In and Yo
by Sanguinary Toxicity
Summary: [Oneshot collection] In and Yo, light and shadow... one cannot live without the other. Zuko, Katara, Aang and Toph soon discover that this truth in such statements. [Zutara, Taang]


**Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra (c) Nickelodeon**_  
_

* * *

"Hahahahah! Look Daddy! Look how I high I can fly!" Xiang shouted, weaving in the air, her bangs whipping in the wind.

"That's nothing Daddy! I can fly even higher than!" Ling shouted.

Kai stared blankly at his two elder siblings before huffing and looking away. Not that he could see anything anyway. Not since he got seriously ill as a toddler, the fever causing him to lose his eyesight completely. His world was black as the deepest night, and ever since he lost his vision he hadn't even tried earthbending. He knew his father had hoped he'd end up being an airbender, but when Kai began to throw pebbles as a just before his illness both his parents knew that he was an earthbender. The boy huffed again and pulled his knees to his chest, his boots scuffing the ground beneath.

"What's the matter Kai?" his mother asked.

"Nothing Mother," Kai replied softly.

"That's a lie," Toph said.

"I'm fine Mother," Kai said, trying to get his mother to leave without prying too much.

"Another lie," Toph said and sat down next to her son, her metal armour clinging softly. She angled her head towards the sky, smiling softly at the sounds of her son and daughter soaring in the sky. "Your father should be back from the city soon."

"Why aren't you at the police station?" Kai asked.

"I left a bit early," Toph gave a cheeky grin, "it's one of the perks of being Chief of Police."

"Oh," Kai nodded.

"So, what's the matter?"

"Mother," Kai sighed softly, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Hmm," Toph nodded, "why not?"

"Because it's not important."

"Liar, you are being gloomy, why? Is it because you aren't an airbender? Is it because your father ignores you, cause if it is, I'll teach him a lesson about ignoring children."

"Hn," Kai blinked, "a little bit, but not completely."

"Then what is it?"

"I can't see."

"So?"

"If I can't see, I can't bend." Kai replied which earned him a swift cuff across the back of his skull. "Ow," he rubbed his abused head, "Mother!"

"I'm blind and I can bend perfectly well."

"Well... you're... Toph Bei Fong! The greatest earthbender in the world!" Kai said, thrusting his arms out. "Of course you can bend amazingly!"

"Kai," Toph grabbed her son's hand, "you... you were born with vision but the spirits must've felt that you too needed to live this world in total darkness. But that's okay."

"No it's not! I want to be able to see! I want to understand what colors are!"

"I understand what colors are. Blue... blue is water. Cold, wet and deadly but it can also be soothing and healing. Red is fire, hot and dangerous but it too can nurture new life. Green is earth... life, and yellow..." Toph faced the sun with a wistful smile on her face, "warmth and love, acceptance and family, comfort..."

"But..."

"And being blind doesn't mean you can't bend. My masters were blind."

"Your masters?"

"Yep, they were the original earthbenders," Toph grinned.

"You mean... badger-moles?"

"Uh-huh." Toph nodded, "Badger-moles used earthbending as an extension of the senses. Your grandparents felt the need to hide me away from the world because I was born blind. But I rebelled constantly. One day I ran away and fell into a deep hole. I was lost and afraid and that's when I met a family of badger-moles. They were blind like me, so I was accepted and learned earthbending from them, and I also learned how to _see_."

"_See_?"

"Yes," Toph grinned, "your father will say it's a mastering of neutral jing, which is the key to earthbending. What did he call it... listening to the earth... waiting and listening," Toph shook her head. "I can see with earthbending."

"How? I can't see with earthbending. And I'm not even sure I'm an earthbender."

"You are," Toph nodded, "I know you are. You were able to bend pebbles."

"Hn," Kai stared at his feet. "How can I see with earthbending?"

"First off," Toph grabbed her son's feet and yanked his shoes off, "we get rid of these!"

"H-Hey! I need my shoes!"

"And these!" she pulled off his socks next.

"And my socks!"

"No you don't. These things inhibit you from using your feet. You must have constant contact with the earth. Earthbenders that can see can get away with wearing footwear, but even the older earthbenders go without shoes." Toph said before yanking Kai to his feet. "Now tell me what do you feel?"

"Uhm..." Kai tilted his head to the side, "nothing... no wait... I can feel your heartbeat... well more like your pulse through your feet."

"Good," Toph nodded, before stomping her foot before her, causing a boulder to burst forth.

"I felt that!" Kai grinned. "You earthbent!"

"Good job," Toph said. "Now you try."

"Try to earthbend?"

"Yes, earthbend. You are an earthbender Kai!" Toph said. "So do it!" Toph yelled.

Kai took a deep breath. "Do it..." he stomped his foot and punched the air in the same motion his mother did, but nothing happened. "I can't."

"You aren't focused enough Kai! Try again!" Toph shouted.

"No," Kai shook his head. "I can't earthbend... not like you." Kai muttered before walking off.

"Kai! Kai! Kai!" Toph shouted, but her youngest son ignored her. "Argh!" she slammed her fist against the stone wall of air temple.

* * *

"What's wrong Toph?" Aang asked.

"It's Kai," Toph pouted, sitting in a chair. "He's... he has to much potential as an earthbender. I could teach him so much! But he is using his blindness an excuse to be depressed! I tried to get him to earthbend today but..."

"He couldn't, right?" Aang asked.

"No, but he can _see_ like me. So he is an earthbender, it's just not... he just can't bend."

"Why don't you try forcing him to? Like how you pushed a boulder down at me to get me to earthbend."

"You mean stop a rock?"

"Yeah, it may force him to do bend."

"Maybe... but I don't want to do that to him," Toph said.

"Because he's your little earthbender..."

"Yeah... but that may be a good method. Thanks Aang," Toph smiled at her husband.

"No problem," Aang said and stole a kiss from Toph before jumping into the air. He snapped opened his glider and soared away from the boulders she chucked at him.

* * *

"Mother... this isn't going to work," Kai muttered, eyes glued to the ground. "I'm not a bender."

"Bull, you are. You can _see_ like I can. Now, all I want you to do is stop a rock."

"Stop a rock with... earthbending right?"

"Yes. I'm going to push this rock at you, and if you have what it takes so be an earthbender, you'll stand your ground and stop the rock." _And if we're lucky, you'll push it back up at me._ "Ready?"

"I guess," Kai said.

"Now, get into your horse stance!"

Kai huffed but got into his horse stance and dug his toes into the earth. "Feel the earth... it's just stopping a rock."

"Ready?" Toph called.

"Yeah, shoot!" Kai called half-hearted. Toph smirked and pushed the boulder. It rumbled down towards her ten-year-old son and Kai felt his heart race. Every bone in his body told him to run, run, runrunrurn! But he held his ground waiting for the boulder as it rumbled closer and closer to him. It was seconds away from crushing him when he punched out, with everything he had and sent the boulder half-way up the slope it rumbled down from.

"Yes!" Toph shouted and shifted her foot slightly, stopping the boulder. "You are an earthbender!"

"I did it!" Kai grinned, beaming up at his mother. "I'm an earthbender!"

"Good job, Kai. Tomorrow after I get back from work, I'll teach you some more, understand? But for now I want you to just go back and practice and try not to ruin the yard too much, okay?"

"You got it Mother!" Kai shouted before running towards the yard. Toph smiled when she felt the earth tremble beneath her feet in that familiar feeling of being bent by a skilled earthbender.

* * *

**OMG! ATLA... fanfic! **

**I can't believe it! I'm so out of practice but this has been dancing in my head since I've been watching Legend of Korra. I love Zutara and Taang and in my headcanon world, they were the end pairings. So... children! **

**Ling: (13) Airbender and only daughter. Playful**

**Xiang: (12) Airbender, eldest son. Daydreamer**

**Kai: (10) Earthbender. Born with vision, he had a terrible fever when he was three around the time his earthbending powers were beginning to manifest. He lost his vision and refused to bend until he was ten. He prefers traditional earthbending over metalbending. **

**Zuko and Katara rule the Fire Nation and have two children, one boy (waterbender) and one girl (earthbender). **

**R'n'R**

**Sanguinary Toxicity**


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